When Diana Garcia's brother needed a kidney, she knew right away he'd get it from her.

"It's kind of a given," the 43-year-old Scottsdale woman said. "We've always been very close."

This weekend, Garcia will host a fundraiser in Glendale to help her brother, 51-year-old Jesse Luna, pay the thousands of dollars in copays and medication costs that come with the lifesaving surgery.

The fundraiser will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Zendejas Grill, 19420 N. 59th Ave. Money raised from a silent auction and raffle will go to pay Luna's expenses. Twenty percent of all food sales Sunday also will go to the Globe man, who has type 2 diabetes.

Luna, a former Arizona Republic newspaper distribution manager in Globe, has lost much of his energy as the disease has progressed, Garcia said.

"It's been a big change seeing him go through this, seeing him so tired," she said.

Growing up, Luna was a caring, involved big brother to three younger sisters, she said. He taught them to play sports, coached their teams and "always took us under his wing," Garcia said.

The cost that comes with a kidney transplant is high, even with insurance, she said.

The surgery copayment alone will run about $4,000, she said. Medication necessary after the procedure, scheduled for Oct. 16, can cost $500 to $2,500 a month, depending on whether Luna's body accepts the new kidney.

"The outcomes are usually really good, but you just never know," Garcia said.

Although the surgery is serious, Garcia wants the fundraiser to be a celebration.

"It's going to give my brother a new chance," she said. "It's going to give him an opportunity to have a normal life."